Heterogeneous annealing method and device

ABSTRACT

A method of integrating a first substrate having a first surface with a first insulating material and a first contact structure with a second substrate having a second surface with a second insulating material and a second contact structure. The first insulating material is directly bonded to the second insulating material. A portion of the first substrate is removed to leave a remaining portion. A third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) substantially the same as a CTE of the first substrate is bonded to the remaining portion. The bonded substrates are heated to facilitate electrical contact between the first and second contact structures. The third substrate is removed after heating to provided a bonded structure with reliable electrical contacts.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,902,987; 6,932,835;7,041,178; 7,335,996; 7,387,944; 7,485,968; 7,602,070; 7,807,548;7,842,540; 7,871,898; and 8,053,329 and application Ser. Nos.12/270,585; 12/913,385; 12/954,740 and 13/341,273, the entire contentsof which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of three-dimensionalintegrated circuits and more particularly to devices and the fabricationthereof of three-dimensional integrated circuits using direct waferbonding.

2. Description of the Related Art

Semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) are typically fabricated intoand on the surface of a silicon wafer resulting in an IC area that mustincrease as the size of the IC increases. Continual improvement inreducing the size of transistors in ICs, commonly referred to as Moore'sLaw, has allowed a substantial increase in the number of transistors ina given IC area. However, in spite of this increased transistor density,many applications require an increase in total IC area due to a greaterincrease in required transistor count or an increase in the number oflateral interconnections required between transistors to achieve aspecific function. The realization of these applications in a single,large area IC die typically results in a reduction in chip yield and,correspondingly, increased IC cost.

Another trend in IC fabrication has been to increase the number ofdifferent types of circuits within a single IC, more commonly referredto as a System-on a-Chip (SoC). This fabrication typically requires anincrease in the number of mask levels to make the different types ofcircuits. This increase in mask levels typically also results in areduction in yield, and correspondingly, increased IC cost. A solutionto avoiding these undesired decreases in yield and increases in cost isto vertically stack and vertically interconnect ICs. These ICs can be ofdifferent size, come from different size wafers, comprise differentfunctions (i.e., analog, digital, optical), be made of differentmaterials (i.e., silicon, GaAs, InP, etc.). The ICs can be tested beforestacking to allow Known Good Die (KGD) to be combined to improve yield.The economic success of this vertical stacking and verticalinterconnect, or three-dimensional 3D SoC, approach depends on the yieldand cost of the stacking and interconnection being favorable compared tothe yield and cost associated with the increased IC or SoC area. Amanufacturable method for realizing this approach is to vertically stackseparately fabricated ICs using direct bonding where the direct bondingsurface preparation uses conventional wafer fabrication techniques, forexample, metal deposition, dielectric deposition, chemo-mechanicalpolishing, wafer thinning, photolithography masking, and via etching. Afurther advantage of using direct bonding for 3D SoC fabrication is theability to achieve a scalable density of vertical interconnectionsbetween different layers or tiers of the stack as a result of the directbond process.

Direct bonding requires a substantially planar surface that does notresult from typical IC wafer fabrication. Achieving an adequate waferplanarization can thus be a substantial element of cost in a direct bondprocess. It is thus desirable to have a device that comprises astructure and a method to fabricate said structure requiring a minimumcost to achieve this required surface planarity.

Metal direct bonding includes methods and devices for forming 3Dstructures wherein electrically isolated electrical interconnections canbe made across a bond interface which can be formed by aligning andplacing two surfaces of two elements into direct contact. Each surfacecan have insulating and conducting portions and aligned conductingportions can result in a 3D electrical interconnection across the bondinterface, and aligned insulating portions can isolate 3D electricalinterconnections from other 3D electrical interconnections.

The details of making of a 3D electrical interconnections across thebond interface depends on the relative planarity of the insulating andconducting portions. For example, if the conducting portions are higherthan the insulating portions, a 3D interconnection can be made by simplyplacing two surfaces into contact, for example if the there is not anative oxide on the conducting portion preventing a 3D interconnectionand the extension of the conducting portion above the insulating portionis sufficiently small that insulating portions can also bond in directcontact with surface compliance. 3D interconnections may also not bemade by simply placing two surfaces into contact, for example if theconducting portions are lower than the insulating portions such that theconducting portions do not come into contact when the surfaces are placetogether. In this example, 3D interconnections can be made with a slightincrease in temperature due to the coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE) difference between the conducting and insulating portion and anadequate bond energy between insulating components that sufficientlycompresses the conducting components during heating if the elements areof standard thickness. If the CTE of the elements are comparable, theslight increase in temperature to make a connection can be accommodatedby the bond energy of the insulating portions that are in contact andthe stiffness of the element. If the CTE of the elements are notcomparable, for example for some heterogeneous material combinations,high bond energy of the insulating portions in contact can result infracture of one or both of the elements during the heating used to makethe 3D interconnections. This fracture can be avoided by thinning one ofthe elements sufficiently prior to heating. This thinning increases thecompliance of the element by reducing its stiffness so that it canaccommodate the CTE difference of the elements. Thinning to accommodatethis difference in CTE can result in a reduced stiffness of the elementsuch that compression is not adequate to make a 3D interconnection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a compression device and methodthat will facilitate formation of direct bonded 3D interconnectionsbetween two elements when heated where one or both elements are thinnedsufficiently to compromise the stiffness of the thinned element orelements that is required to make a 3D interconnection across a bondinterface between the two elements.

In one example of the method and device, two heterogeneous waferscontaining semiconductor material with different CTE have surfacessuitably prepared for metal direct bonding wherein the conductive metalportion or portions of the surface are below the insulating portion orportions. The wafers are aligned and placed into contact and theinsulating portions form a direct bond with high bond energy. A firstwafer is then thinned, but the thinning reduces the stiffness of thethinned wafer below that required to reliably form 3D interconnections.A third wafer with a CTE comparable to the second wafer is then directbonded to the thinned side of the first wafer, increasing the stiffnessof the thinned wafer, and the bonded structure is heated, allowing 3Dinterconnections to form.

In a second example of the method and device, two heterogeneous waferscontaining semiconductor material with different CTE have surfacessuitably prepared for metal direct bonding wherein the conductive metalportion or portions of the surface are below the insulating portion orportions. The wafers are aligned and placed into contact and theinsulating portions form a direct bond with high bond energy. A firstwafer is then thinned, but the thinning reduces the stiffness of thethinned wafer below that required to reliably form 3D interconnections.A third wafer with a CTE comparable to the second wafer is then clampedto the thinned side of the first wafer, increasing the stiffness of thethinned wafer, and the bonded structure is heated, allowing 3Dinterconnections with heating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the present invention and many attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of two wafers with a major portion and a directmetal bond portion.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of two wafers with a major portion and a directmetal bond portion aligned and placed together forming a bond interface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of two wafers with a major portion and a directmetal bond portion aligned and placed together forming a bond interfacewith a substantial portion of the major portion of one of the two wafersremoved resulting in a thinned portion of a direct metal bonded pair.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a stiffening wafer attached to the thinnedportion of a direct metal bonded pair.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a thinned portion of a direct metal bonded pairafter removal of a stiffening wafer.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a second embodiment including filled vias.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of two wafers bonded each having filled vias.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of showing the structure of FIG. 7 with the viasexposed.

FIG. 9 shows the attachment of an additional substrate to the structureof FIG. 8.

FIGS. 10A-10C are detailed views of the metal bonding region.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a wafer bonded with a clamp.

FIG. 12 is another diagram of a wafer bonded with a clamp.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of bonding using a flexible container.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of applying pressure to the flexible container ofFIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of bonding using a flexible container.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of applying pressure to the flexible container ofFIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, in particular FIG. 1, a first embodimentof the method according to the invention will be described. It is notedhere that the drawings are not drawn to scale but are drawn toillustrate the concepts of the invention.

Two wafers, 1 and 2 are prepared for bonding. The wafers are ofdifferent material, and have different CTE. Wafer 2 includes a majorportion 6 and a direct metal bond portion 5. Direct metal bond portion 5has a surface with insulating and metal portions. The insulatingportions are preferably an oxide or nitride, and more preferably asilicon oxide or silicon nitride. The portion 5 is shown in more detailin FIGS. 10A-10C. Metal pads 20 may be below, flush or above the oxideor nitride material 21 depending upon the process conditions and desiredconfiguration. In the case where chemo-mechanical polishing is used onthe surface, the metal pads can be dished and have a surface below thesurface of the oxide or nitride material or the oxide or nitridematerial can be dished and have a surface below the surface of the metalpads.

Major portion 6 can include substrate, device, and interconnect portionsthat are, for example, found in industry standard manufacturedsemiconductor wafers, such as CMOS wafers that typically aremanufactured with a copper or aluminum back-end-of-line process. Wafer 1includes a major portion 3 and a direct metal bond portion 4. Majorportion 3 can include substrate, device, and contact portions that are,for example, found in industry standard gallium nitride-basedhetero-epitaxial device structures grown on sapphire (GaN/sapphire) thathave contacts formed to the hetero-epitaxial material.

Wafer 1 and wafer 2 are direct metal bonded as described in applicationSer. Nos. 09/505,283, 10/359,608 and 11/201,321, as shown in FIG. 2. Ifthe surfaces of metal portions are below the surfaces of insulatingportions, only the insulating portions may be in direct contact atinterface 7 after the wafers are first placed into contact. The bondedwafers may then be heated to increase the bond energy between the bondedinsulating portions, but not at too high a temperature for CTE inducedstrain to break the bond between the insulating portions or break thebonded wafers. The optimum temperature to increase bond energy willdepend on the CTE difference and thickness of the wafers bonded. Forexample, when bonding a GaN/sapphire structure of approximate range500-1000 micron sapphire thickness to silicon CMOS of approximate range500-750 micron thickness, a temperature in the range of 75-150° C. maybe preferable to achieve a bond energy of greater than 1 J/m² andpreferably greater than 2 J/m². Higher temperatures are possible if athinner material is used or materials with a lower CTE difference areused to facilitate achieving even higher bond energies greater 2.5 J/m².Although this temperature range can be sufficient to achieve a very highbond energy, it may not be sufficient to form 3D interconnectionsdepending on the relative height of the metal and insulating portionsand the type of metal used. For example, if copper is used, atemperature range of 150-250° C. may be required if the copper is 0-10nm below a silicon oxide insulating portion. Alternatively, if nickel isused, a 250-350° C. temperature range may be required to make 3Dinterconnections if the nickel is 0-10 nm below a silicon oxideinsulating portion. The lower temperature range requirement of thecopper compared to the nickel is an example of where the type of metalcan affect the temperature range wherein the higher expansioncoefficient of copper (˜17 ppm/° C.) compared to that of nickel (˜13ppm/° C.) results in more expansion at a given temperature resulting ina lower temperature range for a given difference in height between themetal and insulating portions of the bond surface Higher temperaturesmay thus be required to facilitate electrical interconnections whilehigher temperatures may not be possible with this configuration ofbonded wafers due to CTE induced strain that would break the bondbetween the insulating portions or break the bonded wafers.

Major portion 3 is then thinned as shown in FIG. 3 to form thinned layer8 having a thickness typically in the range of 1-10 microns. Thethickness of layer 8 may be outside this range depending upon theapplication and materials. For example, bonded material combinationswith a low CTE mismatch of <2 ppm/° C. may allow a thicker layer 8 inthe range of 10-100 microns and applications requiring the transfer oflayers less than one micron may use a thinner layer 8 of 0.10-1.0microns. Thinning may include one or a combination of backgrinding,polishing, etching, or laser liftoff. For example, if wafer 2 is aGaN/sapphire structure, laser liftoff can be used to remove the sapphireresulting in a very thin GaN device layer with metal contact portions.The thinned layer 8 allows heating to a higher temperature withoutbreaking the bond between the insulating portions or breaking the bondedwafers due to increased compliance or elasticity. The allowed increasedtemperature depends on the materials and the reduced thickness of layer8. For example, temperatures in excess of 350° C., for example 350° C.to 400° C., can be enabled by this thinning for bonded material thathave a high CTE mismatch of 2-5 ppm/° C. and a layer 8 thickness of 2-20microns. This increased temperature range enabled by reduced layer 8thickness may be suitable to enable 3D interconnections or for otherprocessing, for example oxide deposition or annealing. It is notnecessary to use the full extent of this increased temperature range forother processing. For example, other processing below the maximumincreased temperature range that is higher than that allowed prior toincreasing the temperature range is possible.

In some cases, layer 8 may be too thin to provide adequate stiffness toproduce adequate compression between metal portions at the surface ofwafers 1 and 2 to form reliable 3D interconnections if wafers are heatedto facilitate electrical interconnections. For example, if layer 8 is inthe range of 1 to 10 microns thick, with an upper portion of this layer,for example 0.2 to 2.0 microns, comprising a heterogeneous combinationof insulative and conductive bonding material, considerable stressnormal to the bond interface in the vicinity of the interface betweenthe insulating and conductive bonding material can be generated at lowtemperatures, for example less than 300° C., due to the CTE differencebetween insulative and conductive bonding material. This normal stresscan distort the thin layer, resulting in less compressive force betweenmetal portions and preventing electrical interconnections across thebond interface. This distortion results from a CTE mismatch inducedextrusion of the conductive bonding material relative to the insulatingbonding material at the thinned surface that is not constrained by thethinned layer due to the reduced stiffness of the thinned layer comparedto that without partial or total removal of the substrate.

This reduced stiffness can be compensated by bonding a third wafer 9 tothinned major portion 8 to reduce or prevent the distortion of layer 8and enable adequate compression between metal portions at the surface ofwafers 1 and 2 to form 3D interconnections with heating after thebonding of third wafer 9 as shown in FIG. 4. The minimum thickness ofthird wafer 9 required can be determined experimentally, however, thisthickness will typically be less than a standard wafer thickness, forexample 50-100 microns for 100-300 mm diameter wafers with standardthickness of about 0.5-0.8 mm as the stiffness is increasedsubstantially with relatively small thickness being dependent on thecube of the thickness of third wafer 9. A reduced thickness of thirdwafer 9 may be obtained by thinning third wafer 9 before or afterattaching. A wafer 9 thickness larger than the minimum thickness, forexample a standard wafer thickness, may also be used.

The attachment of third wafer 9 can be with a variety of methods, forexample with a direct bond, as described in application Ser. No.09/505,283, or a clamp 15 as shown in FIG. 11. If with a direct bond,the attachment may include the addition of bonding layers on wafer 9and/or thinned portion 8. If with a clamp, clamp 15 is shown in FIG. 11with the external pressure applied to both sides of wafer stackrepresented by the arrows. This can be done by applying externalpressure from both sides as shown in FIG. 11 or by applying externalpressure from one side with opposing side restrained by a chuck 16 asshown in FIG. 12. Third wafer 9 preferably has a CTE comparable to wafer2 to prevent excessive stress during subsequent heating to form 3Dinterconnections. For example, if wafer 1 is GaN/sapphire, and wafer 2is silicon CMOS, third wafer 9 can be silicon. The workable range of thedifference in CTE depends on the materials, their area and theirthicknesses. For example, when bonding 200 mm diameter silicon wafersand using silicon oxide and copper as insulating and conductive bondmaterials, respectively, it is preferable to have a difference in CTEless than 0.5 ppm/° C. When working with larger wafers, for example 300mm wafers, it is preferable to have a smaller difference in CTE lessthan 0.3 ppm/° C. and when working with smaller wafers, for example 200mm wafers, it is possible to have a larger difference in CTE less than1.0 ppm/° C. When working with bond materials with a smaller differencein CTE, for example silicon oxide and nickel, it is preferable to havewafers with a smaller difference in CTE to allow for relatively moreheating.

A flexible clamping arrangement as shown in FIGS. 13-16, can be used toassist in holding the bonded wafers together during heating while inaddition accommodating bowing of the wafers which will naturally occurduring heating due to the CTE difference of the wafers. This method canbe applied to the first bond of two wafers of FIG. 2 with different CTEs(shown with flexible clamp methods in FIGS. 13 and 14), and also to the3 layer stack of FIG. 4 with two thick CTE matched materials bonded tothe thinner layer of different CTE material sandwiched between the twothicker layers (shown with flexible clamp methods in FIGS. 15 and 16).The flexible clamping arrangement consists of 2 layers of flexiblematerial, for example a silicone rubber sheet, enclosing the bondedmaterials, and sealed at the edges forming a sealed envelope 16. Thematerial used must be able to withstand the temperature that is to beapplied to the bonded layers. Pressure is applied either by evacuatingthe space within the flexible material envelope, thus applyingatmospheric pressure evenly around the outside of the structure (FIGS.13, 15), and/or by putting the flexible envelope and its contents into ahigh pressure chamber 17, and applying the desired pressure evenlyaround the envelope and its contents to compress the layers together(FIGS. 14, 16). In both cases, heat is then applied to the envelope andits contents to strengthen the bond(s) while bowing of the bonded stackis allowed to accommodate CTE mismatch and prevent breaking of thelayers.

The bonded stack of wafers 1, 2, and 3 shown in FIG. 4 can then beheated to higher temperatures than previously to form 3Dinterconnections if interconnections have not already been made due to alack of temperature. For example, 300-350° C. may be required if wafer 1is GaN/sapphire, wafer 2 is silicon CMOS, wafer 3 is silicon, and themetal is nickel. This ability to heat to a higher temperature has beenenabled by replacing a major portion of wafer 2 that is CTE mis-matchedto wafer 1 with wafer 9 that is CTE matched to wafer 1. These highertemperatures are now possible to facilitate electrical interconnectionswith higher temperatures due to this reduction in CTE mis-match. Thesehigher temperatures were previously not possible due to CTE inducedstrain that would break the bond between the insulating portions orbreak the bonded wafers.

After heating, wafer 3 can be removed as shown in FIG. 5, to leaveportion 10. Portion 10 may be essentially thinned portion 8 or may bethicker, for example if a bonding layer portion of wafer 9 is notremoved or may be thinner, for example if a bonding layer portion ofthinned portion 8 is removed. Removal can be with a variety of methods,for example, one or a combination of backgrinding, chemo-mechanicalpolishing, or etching. Such techniques may be used when wafer 3 issilicon. Wafer 3 may also not be removed, for example if wafer 3 has auseful function, for example as part of a packaging function.

A second embodiment of the method according to the invention will now bedescribed. Either one or both of wafer 11 and wafer 12 may contain a viaor vias 13 filled with metal that extend through all, most, or a portionof either one or both of wafer 11 and wafer 12, respectively as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7 for filled vias 13 and 14 that extend through about halfof wafer 11 and wafer 12, respectively, and at a larger pitch than theconductive material at the bond interface. The vias may be electricallyconnected to the conductive material at the bond interface. If bothwafer 11 and wafer 12 have filled vias, the filled vias may be opposedduring the alignment and placement of wafer 1 and wafer 2 together asshown for filled vias 13 and 14, respectively. Vias 13 and 14 may alsobe not opposed.

After wafer 12 is thinned, vias may be exposed as shown in FIG. 8 or mayhave a very thin residual portion of wafer 1 preventing exposure. Forexample, the residual wafer 12 thickness may be less than 100 microns.Heating of the structure in FIG. 8 or a similar structure with aresidual portion on filled vias will result in additional vertical andhorizontal stress than described previously for the metal bonding due tothe expansion coefficient difference between the filled vias surroundingmaterial. The lack of a wafer 3 to inhibit relaxation of this stress candistort the direct metal bond interface and prevent proper bonding. Theattachment or bonding of a wafer 15 as shown in FIG. 9 can inhibitrelaxation of this stress and mitigate distortion of the metal bondinterface and promote 3D electrical interconnections across the metalbond interface. As in embodiment 1, this wafer 15 is preferably madefrom material with a CTE match to that of wafer 11.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of integrating a first elementhaving a first contact structure with a second element having a secondcontact structure, comprising: bonding a first element with a firstmetal bonding structure directly to a second element with a second metalbonding structure; thinning said first element to a thickness that wouldresult in distortion of said first element if heated to a temperature tofacilitate direct connections between the first and second direct metalbonding structure; and attaching a third element having a thickness toreduce said distortion to the thinned first element; heating bondedfirst, second, and third elements; and forming electrical connectionsbetween said first and second metal bonding structures.
 2. The methodrecited in claim 1, further comprising removing the third element. 3.The method recited in claim 1, wherein the bonding comprises applyingpressure using a clamp.
 4. The method recited in claim 3, comprisingplacing the first and second elements in a flexible container.
 5. Themethod recited in claim 4, comprising evacuating the flexible container.6. The method recited in claim 4, comprising applying pressure to thecontainer.
 7. A method of integrating a first element having a firstsurface with a first insulating material and a first contact structurewith a second element having a second surface with a second insulatingmaterial and a second contact structure, comprising: directly bondingthe first insulating material to the second insulating material;removing a portion of the second element to leave a remaining portionhaving a first thickness; directly bonding a third element having acoefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) substantially the same as a CTEof the first element to the said remaining portion; and heating thefirst and third elements and remaining portion to directly contact thefirst and second contact structures.
 8. The method recited in claim 7,further comprising removing the third element.
 9. The method recited inclaim 7, wherein the first and second contact structures comprisenickel, the first element comprises a GaN/sapphire substrate, the secondelement comprises a silicon CMOS substrate, and the third elementcomprises a silicon substrate, the method comprising: heating to atemperature in a range of 300-350° C.
 10. The method recited in claim 7,wherein the first element comprises a GaN/sapphire structure withsapphire substrate in the range of approximately 500-1000 micronthickness, the second element comprises a silicon CMOS substrate of500-750 micron thickness, the method comprising: heating to atemperature in a range of 75-150° C.
 11. The method recited in claim 7,wherein the first and second contact structures comprise copper, thefirst element comprises silicon oxide, the second element comprisessilicon oxide, the method comprising: heating to a temperature about100° C.
 12. The method recited in claim 7, wherein the first element andthe second element have a difference in coefficient of thermal expansionof less than 0.5 ppm/° C.
 13. The method recited in claim 7, wherein thefirst and third elements have substantially the same coefficient ofthermal expansion.
 14. The method recited in claim 13, wherein thesecond element has a coefficient of thermal expansion different from thefirst and third elements.
 15. The method recited in claim 7, wherein thefirst thickness is in a range of 1-10 microns.
 16. The method recited inclaim 7, comprising: directly bonding the third element having acoefficient of thermal expansion different from the CTE of the firstelement in a range of 0.3 to 1.0 ppm/° C.
 17. The method recited inclaim 7, comprising: directly bonding the third element having acoefficient of thermal expansion different from the CTE of the firstelement by less than about 0.3 ppm/° C.
 18. The method recited in claim7, comprising: directly bonding the third element having a coefficientof thermal expansion different from the CTE of the first element by lessthan about 0.5 ppm/° C.
 19. The method recited in claim 7, comprising:directly bonding the third element having a coefficient of thermalexpansion different from the CTE of the first element by less than about1.0 ppm/° C.
 20. The method recited in claim 7, wherein at least one ofthe first and second contact structures is copper, comprising: heatingto a temperature in a range of 150-250° C.
 21. The method recited inclaim 20, comprising: forming at least one of the first and secondcontact structures to have a surface 0-10 nm below a surface of therespective first and second insulating material.
 22. The method recitedin claim 7, wherein at least one of the first and second contactstructures is nickel, comprising: heating to a temperature in a range of250-350° C.
 23. The method recited in claim 22, comprising: forming atleast one of the first and second contact structures from to have asurface 0-10 nm below a surface of the respective first and secondinsulating material.
 24. The method recited in claim 7, comprising:thinning the third material to a thickness in a range of about 0.1-1 nm.25. The method recited in claim 7, comprising: thinning the thirdmaterial to a thickness in a range of about 1-10 nm.
 26. The methodrecited in claim 7, comprising: thinning the third material to athickness in a range of about 10-100 nm.
 27. The method recited in claim7, comprising: thinning the third material to a thickness in a range ofabout 2-20 nm; and heating to a temperature of at least 350° C.
 28. Themethod recited in claim 7, comprising: forming a via filled withconductive material connected to at least one of the first and secondcontact structures.
 29. The method recited in claim 7, wherein at leastone of said first and second contact structures comprises a direct metalbonding structure.
 30. The method recited in claim 7, wherein thebonding comprises applying pressure using a clamp.
 31. The methodrecited in claim 30, comprising placing the first and second elements ina flexible container.
 32. The method recited in claim 31, comprisingevacuating the flexible container.
 33. The method recited in claim 31,comprising applying pressure to the container.